


Little Spider

by okaybi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff, Gen, IronDad and SpiderSon, NOW WITH A PART TWO, Nonbinary Peter Parker, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Supportive Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24948436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okaybi/pseuds/okaybi
Summary: “You stopped talking there for a second,” Tony says, lips quirking into a half smile, “Everything alright?”It’s now or never. He just has to do it quickly. Like ripping off a bandaid or asking for extra sauce at a restaurant.
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 26
Kudos: 484





	1. Chapter 1

It’s lab day, and Peter’s doing what he always does when he arrives—talking a mile a minute to Tony as they work on their respective projects. Except, today he’s chatting about anything but what he wants to, not wanting to give away that he’s nervous by being silent. 

No matter how badly he wants to just come out and say it, he can’t lose that nagging feeling that Tony—Tony who is Iron Man, Tony who invented time travel for him, Tony who he looks up to like a father—will be disappointed in him. 

“Kid?” Tony calls. 

“Huh?” Peter asks, refocusing on Tony, seeing his mentor’s screwdriver paused midair.

“You stopped talking there for a second,” Tony says, lips quirking into a half smile, “Everything alright?” 

It’s now or never. He just has to do it quickly. Like ripping off a bandaid or asking for extra sauce at a restaurant. 

“Mr. Stark, I think I wanna try they/them pronouns,” he blurts, no spaces and no breaths in between. 

“Can you repeat that and slow it down for me, please?” Tony asks, “I’m getting a little old over here.” 

That makes Peter let out a nervous giggle. It’s just Tony, he can do this. Taking a measured breath, he calmly says, “I think I wanna try they/them pronouns.” 

“Okay kiddo! Thanks for telling me, I’m really proud of you.” And indeed, Tony is beaming over at Peter with a sort of pride only a dad is capable of. It makes Peter’s heart feel all warm and fuzzy. “Do you have a different name you’d prefer or-?” 

“Uh, no. I’m just testing it out to see if it, I dunno, fits? So Peter is fine.” They can feel the blood rushing to their face, but they also can’t stop the grin that is stretching from ear to ear at Tony’s ready acceptance. It’s so validating, to hear the person Peter’s looked up to their entire life want to reassure them and make sure they’re comfortable. 

Tony nods. “Okay. Who all have you told? Is there anyone you’d prefer me to use he/him pronouns around when referring to for you?” 

“I told May, Ned, and MJ so far. I’ll probably tell Harley soon.” Peter wrings their hands. “Maybe… maybe don’t use they/them around the other Avengers, if they wouldn’t be understanding about it.” 

“That’s understandable. For what it’s worth, I think they’ll all be supportive. Let me know if there’s anything I say that makes you uncomfortable, I won’t be mad at you for calling me out, bambino.” 

The nickname slips out and immediately Tony is retracting it. “Nope, that’s a gendered term, sorry about that. Gotta find you another nickname, squirt.” He hums to himself, seemingly deep in thought. Finally, he snaps his fingers and points across the workshop at Peter’s amused face. “I’ve got it: Little spider! It’s gender neutral and fits your description perfectly.” 

Rolling their eyes, Peter throws back, “You already had Underoos if those were your sole requirements.” 

An evil gleam takes over Tony’s eyes and Peter quite literally face palms. “I shouldn’t have brought that up. I hate that nickname,” Peter bemoans, looking at Tony with big, pleading eyes. It’s worth at least an attempt. 

“No, Underoos,” Tony tells them, wagging a finger, “that wide-eyed puppy dog innocent look is not going to keep me from using that name for you.” 

“You’re a menace.” 

“Takes one to know one.” 

Peter laughs and sticks out their tongue. They continue on with their routine for their typical lab day. Simple as that. 

While they’re eating takeout on the worn down couch in the lab, Peter thinks how profoundly grateful they are that Tony came out the other side of the war with Thanos, that someone or something, somewhere out in the universe, let Tony come back to his family. 

There’s no way Peter would‘ve survived losing someone else, especially not Tony. He’s the best parental figure Peter could ask for. 

“You know I’m proud of you, right?” Tony says in between bites of food. “Always will be. And I’m so glad you’re figuring out and exploring your identity, and that you feel safe enough to do that with me.” 

Peter beams at the words, leaning forward to rest their forehead on Tony’s shoulder. “Love you, Dad.” 

A hand cups the back of their neck, fingers gliding effortlessly through the curls there. “Love you too, kiddo. So much.” 

Pulling back, a teasing grin takes over Peter as he says, “So you’d be proud of me even if I turned out to be like an evil supervillain the Avengers have to fight?” 

Tony rolls his eyes, throwing a napkin at Peter that doesn’t reach them because of physics. “Yes, even then.” 

They lapse into comfortable silence for a bit before Tony ruins it by asking “So, is my little spider interested in anybody?” 

Peter scowls, though they know there’s a blush coating their cheeks. “No.”

“I think you’re lying,” Tony sing songs, shiteating grin taking up the majority of his face. 

“Am not,” Peter retorts ever so maturely as they desperately try not to think about sandy blond hair and unfairly blue eyes. Nope, not thinking about that at all. “Why are we talking about this?”

“Because, we just talked about too many icky feelings and now we need to cleanse the air through relentless teasing. Thus, my inquiring after who my child might end up in a relationship with.” 

Groaning, Peter sprawls across the couch, head flopping back onto the cushion. “You just like torturing me, Mr. Stark.” 

“Oh, back to ‘Mr. Stark’, is it?” 

“Yes,” Peter says, nodding gravely as best as they can from their position. It goes quiet for a moment and Peter thinks that’s the end of it.

“It’s Harley, isn’t it?” Tony guesses. They spoke too soon.

Peter chucks a pillow at him without looking. They know it’s hit the mark when Tony gives a startled yelp. Tony tosses it back but misses Peter by a long shot, getting a laugh out of Peter. 

“Betrayed by my own s- my own kid,” he tsks, shaking his head in mock disappointment. 

“Maybe if you just minded your business,” Peter mumbles, but they’re smiling up at the ceiling. 

As Peter swings home that night, they think about how much happiness Tony has brought into their life, simply by being there. And, in turn, how much joy Peter seems to have brought to Tony. 

Their phone pings as they unlock the door to their and May’s apartment (after they’ve shucked their suit in an alleyway, because why not). They wait to check it until they’re in bed

**Mr. Tony:** _ Are there clothes that would make you more comfortable or that you want? Do you want to go shopping sometime?  _

The cute skirts they’ve seen Betty wearing and the clunky heeled boots MJ adores flash, unbidden, across their mind. 

**Peter:** _ sure! thank you, tony _

**Mr. Tony:** _ It’s no problem at all, Petey. _

Peter sets their phone down on the nightstand, curling up under the blankets. The phone buzzes once again and Peter blindly reaches out to grab it. The lock screen reads: 

**Mr. Tony**

_ [one image attached] _

Sliding it the thread open curiously, Peter sees a screenshot of their own contact in Tony’s phone, their name now displaying ‘Little Spider’. Peter grins, sending back a heart before tossing the phone back onto the table and crashing from their eventful day. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> immediately after i said i didn’t have ideas to continue this i had an idea

Peter’s sprawled out across the couch in Tony’s personal lab waiting for the man himself to get back with food and refreshments because the lab’s fridge isn’t stocked at the moment. They groan as their phone rings and blindly reach to grab it, answering with a put out “Hello.” 

“Is someone in a grumpy mood today?” The voice on the other end of the line teases. 

Bolting upright, Peter squeaks “Hi, Harley,” then immediately wants to pound their head against the wall. Fantastic. 

“Hey, Peter,” Harley says, all slow and overly drawn out. It nearly makes Peter melt into the cushions. “There’s this new movie I wanna see. It comes out near the beginning of my visit up there next month, will you go see it with me?” 

“Like, as a date?” Peter asks quietly, their leg bouncing up and down incessantly. 

“Exactly like that, sweetheart,” Harley says and Peter can hear the smile in his voice as he does.

Jumping from their perch on the sofa, Peter pumps a fist into the air. “Yes, I’d love to.” 

“I’m glad,” Harley replies, sounding as light and happy as Peter feels. “So what’s up with you?”

Peter eases down into their seat again, sighing a little. “Nothing, waiting for Tony to bring me food.” 

Harley hums his sympathy. “Bet he’s ordering cheeseburgers.” 

“He better be. That sounds good and I’m starving.” They hear Harley snort a laugh—which is freaking cute as heck—and smile to themself. “What’re you doing?” 

“Oh, you know,” Harley says loftily, in their mind’s eye Peter can see Harley waving a hand about without a care, “talking to the prettiest boy in the multiverse.” 

Without taking a second to think, Peter says, “Not a boy.” Did they actually just do that or is this a fever dream? They pinch their arm to check. Nope, definitely did that. The wall is suddenly sounding like a good option again.

There’s a beat of silence from the other side of the line, then some rustling as if Harley’s trying to get more comfortable or find a more quiet space to talk.

“What pronouns should I use for you?” 

Peter blinks once then twice. “They/them, please.” 

“Does me calling you sweetheart, baby, darlin’, etc., make you uncomfortable?” 

Blushing to the tips of their ears, Peter shakes their head vigorously before remembering Harley can’t see that. “Nope, definitely not.” 

“Is there anything I should avoid saying or doing so that I don’t make you uncomfortable?” 

“Uh, don’t out me to anyone? Like, May and Tony know, but don’t say anything to anyone else. Not yet, at least.” Peter tugs on their lower lip with their teeth. 

“Okay,” Harley agrees, “You still wanna go on that date?” 

“Yes, absolutely,” Peter says without hesitation. 

“I’ll even buy you a cheeseburger,” Harley teases. 

Peter snorts, eyes rolling back in his head. “I’m gonna hold you to that promise.” 

“Darlin’, I will buy you a thousand burgers.” There’s a pause. “With Tony’s card, that is.”

They both dissolve into laughter. After a while, Peter sighs and says, “I better go, Tony should be back soon.” 

“Text me after lab time?” Harley suggests. “I know y’all get preoccupied in there.” 

Agreeing, Peter says bye and they hang up. Just as they’re putting their phone away, they hear footsteps coming from the stairs. 

“Tony, Tony, Tony!” Peter exclaims as Tony steps through the doorway. 

“Peter!” Tony calls right back, smiling as he sets bags of food on the coffee table. 

They grin over at Tony and ask, “Guess what?” 

“What?” 

“I have a date with an insanely cute boy.” Peter bounces on the balls of their feet, trying to stave off some of the energy that’s come with their excitement. 

“You do?” Tony asks, his own smile widening. A frown takes over soon after. “My little spider, they really do grow up too fast.” He tosses something to Peter, who catches it on reflex alone. 

“Burgers,” Peter says, sighing happily, “This is the best day ever.” 

“Did Harley finally ask you out or is it someone else?” 

Peter takes a big bite out of their burger so they can’t answer. Instead, they hold up one finger to indicate that the first one’s correct. 

“Damn,” Tony says mournfully, shaking his head, “Can’t tell him I’ll haunt him if he hurts you because he either won’t care or won’t believe me.” 

“So how about we save everyone the embarrassment and you just don’t try to give him a shovel talk?” Peter is really hoping Tony will go with that option, they’re not looking forward to whatever nonsense Tony spews about not hurting his precious little spider. 

Tony shakes his head. “No way, I’ll just send Pepper to do it. There’s not a single person on this planet who isn’t terrified of her, and rightfully so.” 

Groaning, Peter plucks another burger from one of the bags. “You’re the worst.” 

“You love me.” 

Yeah, Peter really does. 

Tony pokes Peter in the side. “You okay?” Peter nods. “Good. Did you tell him that you’re non-binary? Or should I still use he/him around Harley?” 

“No, I told him,” Peter says, soft smile gracing their lips as they recall Harley’s response. It never ceases to amaze them that they have so many kind, supportive people in their life. 

“Judging by your lovesick puppy expression, I take it that it went well?” 

“Yeah.” Peter shrugs. 

“That’s great, Petey,” he says, beaming. 

They finish eating in relative silence and are about to get back to work when Peter jolts onto their feet. 

“Tony,” Peter breathes, “I have a date. A date! I’ve never been on a single date in my life, what am I supposed to do?” 

“Don’t worry, I can help with that,” Tony reassures. 

As it turns out, Tony hasn’t really done the dating thing much and isn’t any help at all. They end up spending the rest of the night—and well into the morning—watching cheesy high school movies in the penthouse living room, Peter curled up with their head in Tony’s lap as they text Harley. 

By morning, Harley and Peter’s date is completely mapped out, and Peter is so happy they feel it like an ache in their chest.

**Author's Note:**

> constructive feedback is welcome! (just say it nicely pls lol) thanks for reading hope you enjoyed! :)


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